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{{dablink|For the former M/S Anna Karenina, see [[M/S Regina Baltica]]}} |
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'''''Anna Karenina''''' (''Анна Каренина'') is a [[novel]] by the Russian writer [[Leo Tolstoy]] first published in periodical installments from [[1875]] to [[1877]] . The novel first appeared as a serial in the periodical ''Ruskii Vestnik'' ("''Russian Messenger''") -- but Tolstoy clashed with its editor [[Mikhail Katkov]] over issues that arose in the final installment. Therefore, the novel's first complete appearance was in book form. |
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'''''Anna Karenina''''' (''Анна Каренина'') is a [[novel]] by the Russian writer [[Leo Tolstoy]], first published in periodical installments from [[1875]] to [[1877]]. The novel first appeared as a serial in the periodical, ''Ruskii Vestnik'' ("''Russian Messenger''") -- but Tolstoy clashed with its editor [[Mikhail Katkov]] over issues that arose in the final installment. Therefore, the novel's first complete appearance was in book form. |
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Widely regarded as a pinnacle in realist fiction, Tolstoy considered this book his first true novel. The character of Anna was likely inspired, in part, by Maria Hartung (1832–1919), the elder daughter of the Russian poet [[Alexander Pushkin]]. Soon after meeting her at dinner, Tolstoy started reading Pushkin's prose and once had a fleeting daydream of "a bare exquisite aristocratic elbow", which proved to be the first intimation of Anna's character. |
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Widely regarded as a pinnacle in realist fiction, Tolstoy considered this book his first true novel. The character of Anna was likely inspired, in part, by [[Maria Hartung]] (1832–1919), the elder daughter of the Russian poet [[Alexander Pushkin]]. Soon after meeting her at dinner, Tolstoy started reading Pushkin's prose and once had a fleeting daydream of "a bare exquisite aristocratic elbow", which proved to be the first intimation of Anna's character. |
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Although most Russian critics panned the novel on its publication as a "trifling romance of high life", [[Fyodor Dostoevsky]] declared it to be "flawless as a work of art". His opinion is seconded by [[Vladimir Nabokov]], who especially admired "the flawless magic of Tolstoy's style" and the motif of the moving train, which is subtly introduced in the first chapters (the kids playing with a toy train) and inexorably developed in subsequent chapters (Anna's nightmare dream), thus heralding the novel's majestic finale. |
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Although most Russian critics panned the novel on its publication as a "trifling romance of high life", [[Fyodor Dostoevsky]] declared it to be "flawless as a work of art". His opinion is seconded by [[Vladimir Nabokov]], who especially admired "the flawless magic of Tolstoy's style" and the motif of the moving train, which is subtly introduced in the first chapters (the kids playing with a toy train) and inexorably developed in subsequent chapters (Anna's nightmare dream). These literary constructions herald the novel's majestic finale. |
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==Plot summary== |
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{{spoiler}} |
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The novel is depicted in eight parts. The novel begins with one of its most quoted lines, "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." |
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== Plot summary == |
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Part 1 introduces the character Prince Stepan Arkadyevitch Oblonsky ("Stiva"), a civil servant who has been unfaithful to his wife Darya Alexandrovna ("Dolly"). Stiva's affair shows an amorous personality which he cannot seem to suppress. Stiva summons his married sister, Anna Karenina, from [[St. Petersburg]] to persuade Dolly not to leave Stiva. |
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{{spoiler}} |
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Upon arriving at [[Moscow]], a railway worker accidentally falls in front of a train and is killed—foreshadowing Anna's own demise. Meanwhile, Stiva's childhood friend Konstantin Dmitrievich Levin arrives in [[Moscow]] to offer his hand in marriage to Dolly's younger sister Ekaterina Alexandrovna Shcherbatsky ("Kitty"). The passionate, restless but shy aristocratic landowner lives on an estate which he manages. Kitty turns him down, expecting a marriage offer from army officer Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky. Despite his fondness for Kitty, Vronsky has no intention of marrying her. He soon falls in love with Anna after he meets her at the [[Moscow]] train station and later dances the [[mazurka]] with her at a ball. |
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The novel is depicted in eight parts. The novel begins with one of its most quoted lines, "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." |
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Anna, shaken by her response and animation to Vronsky, returns at once to St. Petersburg. Vronsky follows her on the same train. Levin returns to his estate farm, abandoning any hope of marriage, and Anna returns to her husband Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin, a senior government official, and their son Sergei ("Seriozha") in Petersburg. [[Image:Samoilova.jpg|thumb|250px|Tatiana Samoilova as Anna in the 1967 Soviet screening of Tolstoy's novel.]] |
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Part 1 introduces the character Prince Stepan Arkadyevitch Oblonsky ("Stiva"), a civil servant who has been unfaithful to his wife, Darya Alexandrovna ("Dolly"). Stiva's affair shows an amorous personality which he cannot seem to suppress. Stiva summons his married sister, Anna Karenina, from [[St. Petersburg]] to persuade Dolly not to leave Stiva. |
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In part 2, Karenin scolds Anna for talking too much with Vronsky, but after a while she returns Vronsky's affections, and becomes pregnant with his child. Anna shows anguish when Vronsky falls from a racehorse, making her feelings obvious in society and prompting her to confess to her husband. This attraction appears repeatedly in the book through the form of a "What if" question. When Kitty learns that Vronsky prefers Anna over her, she turns ill. Two doctors examine her, and together they decide she should travel abroad to recover. She goes to a resort at a [[Germany|German]] [[spring (water)|spring]] to recover from the shock. There she briefly becomes extremely pious, but decides that she can't retain that level of piety without deceiving herself. |
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Upon arriving at [[Moscow]], a railway worker accidentally falls in front of a train and is killed -- foreshadowing Anna's own demise. Meanwhile, Stiva's childhood friend Konstantin Dmitrievich Levin arrives in [[Moscow]] to offer his hand in marriage to Dolly's younger sister, Ekaterina Alexandrovna Shcherbatsky ("Kitty"). The passionate, restless but shy aristocratic landowner lives on an estate which he manages. Kitty turns him down, expecting a marriage offer from army officer Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky. Despite his fondness for Kitty, Vronsky has no intention of marrying her. He soon falls in love with Anna after he meets her at the [[Moscow]] train station and later dances the [[mazurka]] with her at a ball. |
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Part 3 examines Levin's life on his rural farming estate, a setting closely tied to Levin's spiritual thoughts and struggles. Throughout the chapter, Levin wrestles with the idea of falseness, wondering how he should go about ridding himself of it, and criticizing what he feels is falseness in others. Dolly also meets Levin, and attempts to revive his feelings for Kitty. Dolly seems to have failed, but a chance sighting of Kitty makes Levin realize he still loves her. Back in Petersburg, Karenin exasperates Anna by refusing to separate with her, and threatens not to let her see their son Seriozha ever again if she leaves or misbehaves, exactly what Vronsky asks her to do. |
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Anna, shaken by her response and animation to Vronsky, returns at once to St. Petersburg. Vronsky follows her on the same train. Levin returns to his estate farm, abandoning any hope of marriage, and Anna returns to her husband, Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin (who happens to be a senior government official) and their son, Sergei ("Seriozha"), in Petersburg. |
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By part 4 however, Karenin finds the situation intolerable and begins seeking [[divorce]]. Anna's brother Stiva argues against it and persuades Karenin to speak with Dolly first. Again, Dolly seems to be unsuccessful, but Karenin changes his plans after hearing that Anna is dying in childbirth. At her bedside, Karenin forgives Vronsky, who in remorse attempts suicide. However, Anna recovers, having given birth to a daughter she names Anna ("Annie"). Stiva finds himself pleading on her behalf ''for'' Karenin to divorce. Vronsky at first plans to flee to [[Tashkent]], but changes his mind after seeing Anna, and they leave for [[Europe]] without obtaining a divorce after all. Much more straightforward is Stiva's matchmaking with Levin: a meeting he arranges between Levin and Kitty results in their reconciliation and betrothal. |
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[[Image: Samoilova.jpg|thumb|250px|Tatiana Samoilova as Anna in the 1967 Soviet screening of Tolstoy's novel.]] |
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In part 5, Levin and Kitty marry. A few months later, Levin learns that his brother Nikolai is dying. The couple go to him, and Kitty nurses him until he dies, while also discovering she is pregnant. In Europe, Vronsky and Anna struggle to find friends who will accept them and pursue activities that will amuse them, but they eventually return to Russia. Karenin is comforted – and influenced – by the strong-willed Countess Lidia Ivanovna, an enthusiast of religious and mystic ideas fashionable with the upper classes, who counsels him to keep Seriozha away from Anna. However, Anna manages to visit Seriozha unannounced on his birthday, but is discovered by the furious Karenin, who had told their son that his mother was dead. Shortly afterward, she and Vronsky leave for the country. |
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In part 2, Karenin scolds Anna for talking too much with Vronsky, but after a while she returns Vronsky's affections and becomes pregnant with his child. Anna shows anguish when Vronsky falls from a racehorse, making her feelings obvious and prompting her to confess to her husband. This attraction appears repeatedly in the book through the form of a "what if" question. When Kitty learns that Vronsky prefers Anna over her, she turns ill. Two doctors examine her, and together they decide she should travel abroad to recover. She goes to a resort at a [[Germany|German]] [[spring (water)|spring]] to recover from the shock. There, she briefly becomes extremely pious but decides that she cannot retain that level of piety without deceiving herself. |
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In part 6, Dolly visits Anna. At Vronsky's request, she asks Anna to resume seeking a divorce from Karenin. Yet again, Dolly seems unsuccessful; but when Vronsky leaves for several days of provincial elections, a combination of boredom and suspicion convinces Anna she must marry Vronsky. So she writes to Karenin, and leaves with Vronsky for Moscow. |
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Part 3 examines Levin's life on his rural farming estate, a setting closely tied to Levin's spiritual thoughts and struggles. Throughout the chapter, Levin wrestles with the idea of falseness, wondering how he should go about ridding himself of it and criticizing what he feels is falseness in others. Dolly also meets Levin and attempts to revive his feelings for Kitty. Dolly seems to have failed, but a chance sighting of Kitty makes Levin realize he still loves her. Back in Petersburg, Karenin exasperates Anna by refusing to separate with her and threatens not to let her see their son Seriozha again if she leaves or misbehaves, exactly what Vronsky asks her to do. |
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In part 7, the Levins are in Moscow for Kitty's benefit as she gives birth to a son. Stiva, while seeking Karenin's commendation for a new job, again asks him to grant Anna a divorce; but Karenin's decisions are now governed by a "clairvoyant" – recommended by Lidia Ivanovna – who apparently counsels him to decline. Anna and Vronsky become increasingly bitter towards each other. They plan to return to the country, but in a jealous rage Anna leaves early, and in a parallel to part 1, commits suicide by throwing herself in the path of a train. (Tolstoy reportedly was inspired to write ''Anna Karenina'' by reading a newspaper report of such a death.) |
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By part 4, however, Karenin finds the situation intolerable and begins seeking [[divorce]]. Anna's brother, Stiva argues against it and persuades Karenin to speak with Dolly first. Again, Dolly seems to be unsuccessful, but Karenin changes his plans after hearing that Anna is dying in childbirth. At her bedside, Karenin forgives Vronsky, who in remorse attempts suicide. However, Anna recovers, having given birth to a daughter she names Anna ("Annie"). Stiva finds himself pleading on her behalf ''for'' Karenin to divorce Anna. Vronsky at first plans to flee to [[Tashkent]] but changes his mind after seeing Anna, and they leave for [[Europe]] without obtaining a divorce after all. Much more straightforward is Stiva's matchmaking with Levin: a meeting he arranges between Levin and Kitty results in their reconciliation and betrothal. |
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Part 8 continues the story after Anna's death. Stiva gets the job he wanted, and Karenin takes custody of Annie. Some Russian volunteers, including Vronsky, who does not plan to come back, leave to help in the [[Serbia]]n revolt that has just broken out against the [[Turkey|Turks]] (''see also'' [[History of Serbia]], 1877). And in the joys and fears of fatherhood, Levin at last develops faith in the Christian God. |
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In part 5, Levin and Kitty marry. A few months later, Levin learns that his brother, Nikolai, is dying. The couple go to him, and Kitty nurses him until he dies while also discovering she is pregnant. In Europe, Vronsky and Anna struggle to find friends who will accept them and pursue activities that will amuse them, but they eventually return to Russia. Karenin is comforted & n dash; and influenced & n dash; by the strong-willed Countess Lidia Ivanovna, an enthusiast of religious and mystic ideas fashionable with the upper classes, who counsels him to keep Seriozha away from Anna. However, Anna manages to visit Seriozha unannounced on his birthday but is discovered by the furious Karenin (who had told their son that his mother was dead). Shortly afterward, she and Vronsky leave for the country. |
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==Characters in "Anna Karenina"== |
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*Prince Stepan Arkadyevitch Oblonsky ("Stiva") – a civil servant |
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*Darya Alexandrovna ("Dolly") – Stepan's wife |
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*Anna Karenina – the main protagonist, sister to Stepan |
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*Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin – Anna's husband |
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*Konstantin Dmitrievich Levin – Oblonsky's childhood friend |
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*Nikolai Levin – Konstantin's brother |
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*Ekaterina Alexandrovna Shcherbatsky ("Kitty") – for whom Konstantin has come for "the hand" |
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*Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky – "Kitty"'s preferred suitor |
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*Countess Lidia Ivanovna – interested in all things mystical |
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In part 6, Dolly visits Anna. At Vronsky's request, she asks Anna to resume seeking a divorce from Karenin. Yet again, Dolly seems unsuccessful; but when Vronsky leaves for several days of provincial elections, a combination of boredom and suspicion convinces Anna she must marry Vronsky. So she writes to Karenin and leaves with Vronsky for Moscow. |
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==Major themes== |
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The novel, set among the highest circles of Russian society, is generally thought by the casual reader to be nothing more than the story of a tragic romance. However, Tolstoy was both a moralist and severe critic of the excesses of his aristocratic peers, and ''Anna Karenina'' is often interpreted overall as a parable on the difficulty of being honest to oneself when the rest of society accepts falseness. |
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In part 7, the Levins are in Moscow for Kitty's benefit as she gives birth to her son. Stiva, while seeking Karenin's commendation for a new job, again asks him to grant Anna a divorce; but Karenin's decisions are now governed by a "clairvoyant" & n dash; recommended by Lidia Ivanovna & n dash; who apparently counsels him to decline. Anna and Vronsky become increasingly bitter towards each other. They plan to return to the country, but in a jealous rage Anna leaves early, and in a parallel to part 1, commits suicide by throwing herself in the path of a train. (Tolstoy reportedly was inspired to write ''Anna Karenina'' by reading a newspaper report of such a death). |
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Anna is the jewel of [[Saint Petersburg|St. Petersburg]] society until she leaves her husband for the handsome and charming military officer, Count Vronsky. By falling in love, they go beyond society's external conditions of trivial adulterous dalliances. But when Vronsky's love cools, Anna cannot bring herself to return to the husband she detests, even though he will not permit her to see their son until she does. Unable to accept Vronsky's rebuff, and unable to return to a life she hates, she kills herself. [[Image:Lanovoy.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Vasily Lanovoy]] as Count Vronsky.]] |
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Part 8 continues the story after Anna's death. Stiva gets the job he wanted, and Karenin takes custody of Annie. Some Russian volunteers, including Vronsky, who does not plan to come back, leave to help in the [[Serbia]]n revolt that has just broken out against the [[Turkey|Turks]] (''see also'' [[History of Serbia]], 1877). And in the joys and fears of fatherhood, Levin at last develops faith in the Christian God. |
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== Characters in "Anna Karenina" == |
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* Prince Stepan Arkadyevitch Oblonsky ("Stiva") & n dash; a civil servant |
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* Darya Alexandrovna ("Dolly") & n dash; Stepan's wife |
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* Anna Karenina & n dash; the main protagonist, sister to Stepan |
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* Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin & n dash; Anna's husband |
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* Konstantin Dmitrievich Levin & n dash; Oblonsky's childhood friend |
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* Nikolai Levin & n dash; Konstantin's brother |
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* Ekaterina Alexandrovna Shcherbatsky ("Kitty") & n dash; for whom Konstantin has come for "the hand" |
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* Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky & n dash; "Kitty"'s preferred suitor |
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* Countess Lidia Ivanovna & n dash; interested in all things mystical |
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== Major themes == |
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The novel, set among the highest circles of Russian society, is generally thought by the casual reader to be nothing more than the story of a tragic romance. However, Tolstoy was both a moralist and severe critic of the excesses of his aristocratic peers, and ''Anna Karenina'' is often interpreted overall as a parable on the difficulty of being honest to oneself when the rest of society accepts falseness. |
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Anna is the jewel of [[Saint Petersburg|St. Petersburg]] society until she leaves her husband for the handsome and charming military officer, Count Vronsky. By falling in love, they go beyond society's external conditions of trivial adulterous dalliances. But when Vronsky's love cools, Anna cannot bring herself to return to the husband she detests even though he will not permit her to see their son until she does. Unable to accept Vronsky's rebuff, and unable to return to a life she hates, she kills herself. |
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[[Image: Lanovoy.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Vasily Lanovoy]] as Count Vronsky.]] |
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A common way to interpret Anna's tragedy, then, is that she could neither be completely honest nor completely false, showing a [[Hamlet]]-like inner conflict that eventually drives her to suicide. |
A common way to interpret Anna's tragedy, then, is that she could neither be completely honest nor completely false, showing a [[Hamlet]]-like inner conflict that eventually drives her to suicide. |
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However, the novel contains the parallel and contrasting love story of Konstantin Levin. Levin is a wealthy landowner from the provinces, able to move in aristocratic circles. Levine, though, prefers to work on his estate in the country. He tries unsuccessfully to fit into high society by wooing the young Kitty Shcherbatsky in Petersburg; he wins her only when he allows himself to be himself. |
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The joyous, honest and solid relationship of Levin and Kitty is continually contrasted in the novel with that of Anna and Vronsky, which is tainted by its uncertain status (marriage) resulting in constant upheaval, backbiting |
The joyous, honest and solid relationship of Levin and Kitty is continually contrasted in the novel with that of Anna and Vronsky, which is tainted by its uncertain status (marriage) resulting in constant upheaval, backbiting and suspicion. So by the time Anna throws herself under a train at the end of the story, the reader is not supposed to sympathize with her supposed mistreatment but rather recognize that her inability to truly commit to her own happiness or self-truth led to her ignominious end. |
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===Other themes=== |
=== Other themes === |
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''Anna Karenina'' is filled with themes and imagery that illustrates Tolstoy's disdain of his aristocratic peers, and of a litany of human weaknesses. |
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''Anna Karenina'' is filled with themes and imagery that illustrates Tolstoy's disdain of his aristocratic peers and with a litany of human weaknesses. |
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Tolstoy skewers religious hypocrisy and insincerity in several characters, especially Karenin, Anna's husband, and the moralizing Countess Lydia Ivanovna. He also draws contrasts between the peace and wholesomeness of the country and the decadence of urban society. But one of the most prominent themes Tolstoy expounds upon in the novel is the relationship between love and honesty, both the different varieties of them as well as the different degrees to which they coexist, and the happiness that does or doesn't result. |
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Tolstoy skewers religious hypocrisy and insincerity in several characters, especially Karenin, Anna's husband and the moralizing Countess Lydia Ivanovna. He also draws contrasts between the peace and wholesomeness of the country and the decadence of urban society. But one of the most prominent themes Tolstoy expounds upon in the novel is the relationship between love and honesty, both the different varieties of them as well as the different degrees to which they coexist and the happiness that does or does not result. |
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In many ways, ''Anna Karenina'' was the most personal novel Tolstoy wrote up to that point. The character Levin is recognized as a stand-in for Tolstoy himself, whose first name in Russian is "Lev." He incorporated other details of his life into the character, such as Levin's insistence that Kitty read his journals before they marry, something Tolstoy made his own wife do. Thus scholars usually assume that Levin's thoughts reflect Tolstoy's own. |
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In many ways, ''[[Anna Karenina]]'' was the most personal novel Tolstoy wrote up to that point. The character Levin is recognized as a stand-in for Tolstoy himself, whose first name in Russian is "Lev". He incorporated other details of his life into the character, such as Levin's insistence that Kitty read his journals before they marry, something Tolstoy made his own wife do. Thus, scholars usually assume that Levin's thoughts reflect Tolstoy's own. |
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===''Anna Karenina'' and Tolstoy's ''Confession''=== |
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[[Image:Allatarasova.jpg|float|thumb|[[Alla Tarasova]] as Anna Karenina.]] |
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Many of the novel's themes can be found in Tolstoy's ''Confession'', his first-person rumination about the nature of life and faith, written just two years after the publication of ''Anna Karenina''. |
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=== ''Anna Karenina'' and Tolstoy's ''Confession'' === |
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He describes his real-life dissatisfaction with the hypocrisy of his class: |
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<blockquote>''Every time I tried to display my innermost desires – a wish to be morally good – I met with contempt and scorn, and as soon as I gave in to base desires I was praised and encouraged.''</blockquote> |
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[[Image: Allatarasova.jpg|float|thumb|[[Alla Tarasova]] as Anna Karenina]] |
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Tolstoy also details the acceptability of adulterous "liaisons" in aristocratic Russian society: |
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<blockquote>''A dear old aunt of mine, the purest of creatures, with whom I lived, was always saying that she wished for nothing as much as that I would have a relationship with a married woman. '' 'Rien ne forme un jeune homme comme une liaison avec une femme comme il faut.' '' ("Nothing trains a young man properly like an affair with a married woman.")''</blockquote> |
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Many of the novel's themes can be found in Tolstoy's ''[[Confession]]'', his first-person rumination about the nature of life and faith, written just two years after the publication of ''Anna Karenina''. |
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He describes his real-life dissatisfaction with the hypocrisy of his class: |
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<blockquote> |
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''Every time I tried to display my innermost desires & n dash; a wish to be morally good & n dash; I met with contempt and scorn, and as soon as I gave in to base desires I was praised and encouraged''. |
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</blockquote> |
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Tolstoy also details the acceptability of adulterous "liaisons" in aristocratic Russian society: |
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<blockquote> |
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''A dear old aunt of mine, the purest of creatures, with whom I lived, was always saying that she wished for nothing as much as that I would have a relationship with a married woman. 'Rien ne forme un jeune homme comme une liaison avec une femme comme il faut'("Nothing trains a young man properly like an affair with a married woman")''. |
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</blockquote> |
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Another theme in ''Anna Karenina'' is the aristocratic habit of speaking in French instead of Russian as a form of society's falseness. There is even one passage that could possibly be interpreted as a sign of Anna's eventual redemption in Tolstoy's eyes: |
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<blockquote> |
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''For in the end what are we, who are convinced that suicide is obligatory and yet cannot resolve to commit it, other than the weakest, the most inconsistent and, speaking frankly, the most stupid of people, making such a song and dance with our banalities?'' |
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</blockquote> |
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The ''Confession'' contains many other autobiographical insights into the themes of ''Anna Karenina''. A [[public domain]] version is included here [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/tolstoy/confession.html here]. |
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Another theme in ''Anna Karenina'' is that the aristocratic habit of speaking in French instead of Russian is another form of society's falseness. There is even one passage that could possibly be interpreted as a sign of Anna's eventual redemption in Tolstoy's eyes: |
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<blockquote>''For in the end what are we, who are convinced that suicide is obligatory and yet cannot resolve to commit it, other than the weakest, the most inconsistent and, speaking frankly, the most stupid of people, making such a song and dance with our banalities?''</blockquote> |
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The ''Confession'' contains many other autobiographical insights into the themes of ''Anna Karenina''. A [[public domain]] version of it is [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/tolstoy/confession.html here]. |
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{{endspoiler}} |
{{endspoiler}} |
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==Film, TV or theatrical adaptations== |
== Film, TV or theatrical adaptations == |
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The novel has been filmed more than a dozen times. Adaptations include: |
The novel has been filmed more than a dozen times. Adaptations include: |
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*[[Anna Karenina (1914 film)|1914]]: A Russian adaptation directed by [[Vladimir Gardin]]. |
* [[Anna Karenina (1914 film)|1914]]: A Russian adaptation directed by [[Vladimir Gardin]]. |
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*[[Anna Karenina (1915 film)|1915]]: An American version starring Danish actress [[Betty Nansen]]. |
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*[[Anna Karenina (1927 film)|1927]]: An American version titled ''Love'', starring [[Greta Garbo]] and directed by [[Edmund Goulding]]. |
* [[Anna Karenina (1915 film)|1915]]: An American version starring Danish actress [[Betty Nansen]]. |
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* [[Anna Karenina (1927 film)|1927]]: An American version titled ''Love'', starring [[Greta Garbo]] and directed by [[Edmund Goulding]]. This version featured significant changes from the novel and included two different endings, with a happy one for American audiences. |
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*[[Anna Karenina (1935 film)|1935]]: The most famous and critically acclaimed version, starring [[Greta Garbo]] and [[Fredric March]] and directed by [[Clarence Brown]]. |
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*[[Anna Karenina ( |
* [[Anna Karenina (1935 film)|1935]]: The most famous and critically acclaimed version, starring [[Greta Garbo]] and [[Fredric March]] and directed by [[Clarence Brown]]. |
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*[[Anna Karenina (1953 film)|1953]]: A Russian version directed by [[Tatyana Lukashevich]]. |
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*[[Anna Karenina ( |
* [[Anna Karenina (1948 film)|1948]]: Starring [[Vivien Leigh]] and directed by [[Julien Duvivier]]. |
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*[[Anna Karenina (ballet)|1971]]: Ballet by [[Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin]]. |
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*[[Anna Karenina ( |
* [[Anna Karenina (1953 film)|1953]]: A Russian version directed by [[Tatyana Lukashevich]]. |
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*[[Anna Karenina (1985 film)|1985]]: TV Movie starring [[Jacqueline Bisset]] and [[Christopher Reeve]], directed by [[Simon Langton]]. |
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*[[Anna Karenina ( |
* [[Anna Karenina (1967 film)|1967]]: A Russian version directed by [[Alexander Zarkhi]]. |
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*[[Anna Karenina (2000 film)|2000]]: A 4 part British TV adaptation directed by [[David Blair]]. |
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*[[Anna Karenina ( |
* [[Anna Karenina (ballet)|1971]]: Ballet by [[Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin]]. |
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* [[Anna Karenina (1977 film)|1977]]: A 10 part British TV miniseries directed by [[Basil Coleman]]. |
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* [[Anna Karenina (1985 film)|1985]]: TV Movie starring [[Jacqueline Bisset]] and [[Christopher Reeve]], directed by [[Simon Langton]]. |
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* [[Anna Karenina (1997 film)|1997]]: The first US version to be filmed on location in Russia, directed by [[Bernard Rose]] and starring [[Sophie Marceau]] and [[Sean Bean]]. |
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* [[Anna Karenina (2000 film)|2000]]: A 4 part British TV adaptation directed by [[David Blair]]. |
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* [[Anna Karenina (2005 film)|2005]]: A Russian [[mini-series]] by [[Sergei Solovyov ]]. |
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== Trivia == |
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* Karenin's name is derived from the [[Ancient Greek]] word for "head", thus illustrating his pervasive rationality. |
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* The novel became a best-seller in the United States in [[2004]] after a recommendation by TV personality [[Oprah Winfrey]]. (ISBN 0143035002) |
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==Trivia== |
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*Karenin's name is derived from the [[Ancient Greek]] word for "head", thus illustrating his pervasive rationality. |
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*The novel became a best-seller in the United States in [[2004]] after a recommendation by TV personality [[Oprah Winfrey]]. (ISBN 0143035002) |
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== Further reading == |
== Further reading == |
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* Wasiolek, Edward, ''Tolstoy's Major Fiction'' (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1978) |
* Wasiolek, Edward, ''Tolstoy's Major Fiction'' (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1978) |
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==External links== |
== External links == |
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===''Anna Karenina'' in English=== |
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* {{gutenberg|no=1399|name=Anna Karenina}} ''(note that the work of this translator is now considered by some critics to be outdated; see article on [[Constance Garnett]])'' |
=== ''Anna Karenina'' in English === |
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* {{gutenberg|no=1399|name=Anna Karenina}} ''(note that the work of this translator is now considered by some critics to be outdated; see article on [[Constance Garnett]])'' |
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* [http://www.literature.org/authors/tolstoy-leo/anna-karenina/ ''Anna Karenina'' formatted for online reading] (At literature.org. This uses the same Garnett translation described above.) |
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* [http://www.literature.org/authors/tolstoy-leo/anna-karenina/ ''Anna Karenina'' formatted for online reading] (At literature.org. This uses the same Garnett translation described above). |
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* [http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/anna/ Sparknotes: Anna Karenina] An analysis of the book. |
* [http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/anna/ Sparknotes: Anna Karenina] An analysis of the book. |
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===''Anna Karenina'' in Russian=== |
=== ''Anna Karenina'' in Russian === |
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* [http://www.litportal.ru/index.html?a=226&t=1195 «Анна Каренина» at LitPortal.ru] |
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* [http://www.litportal.ru/index.html?a=226&t=1195 «Анна Каренина» at LitPortal.ru] |
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* [http://ilibrary.ru/text/1099/index.html Full Russian text of ''Anna Karenina''] at Alexey Komarov's Internet Library |
* [http://ilibrary.ru/text/1099/index.html Full Russian text of ''Anna Karenina''] at Alexey Komarov's Internet Library |
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===Related works=== |
=== Related works === |
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* [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/tolstoy/confession.html Tolstoy's ''Confession''] |
* [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/tolstoy/confession.html Tolstoy's ''Confession''] |
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Revision as of 02:43, 1 August 2006
Classic UK Penguin edition cover | |
Author | Leo Tolstoy |
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Original title | Анна Каренина |
Translator | Constance Garnett initial |
Country | Russia |
Language | Russian |
Genre | Novel |
Publication date | 1877 |
Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) also Audio Book |
Anna Karenina (Анна Каренина) is a novel by the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, first published in periodical installments from 1875 to 1877. The novel first appeared as a serial in the periodical, Ruskii Vestnik ("Russian Messenger") -- but Tolstoy clashed with its editor Mikhail Katkov over issues that arose in the final installment. Therefore, the novel's first complete appearance was in book form.
Widely regarded as a pinnacle in realist fiction, Tolstoy considered this book his first true novel. The character of Anna was likely inspired, in part, by Maria Hartung (1832–1919), the elder daughter of the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. Soon after meeting her at dinner, Tolstoy started reading Pushkin's prose and once had a fleeting daydream of "a bare exquisite aristocratic elbow", which proved to be the first intimation of Anna's character.
Although most Russian critics panned the novel on its publication as a "trifling romance of high life", Fyodor Dostoevsky declared it to be "flawless as a work of art". His opinion is seconded by Vladimir Nabokov, who especially admired "the flawless magic of Tolstoy's style" and the motif of the moving train, which is subtly introduced in the first chapters (the kids playing with a toy train) and inexorably developed in subsequent chapters (Anna's nightmare dream). These literary constructions herald the novel's majestic finale.
Plot summary
The novel is depicted in eight parts. The novel begins with one of its most quoted lines, "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
Part 1 introduces the character Prince Stepan Arkadyevitch Oblonsky ("Stiva"), a civil servant who has been unfaithful to his wife, Darya Alexandrovna ("Dolly"). Stiva's affair shows an amorous personality which he cannot seem to suppress. Stiva summons his married sister, Anna Karenina, from St. Petersburg to persuade Dolly not to leave Stiva.
Upon arriving at Moscow, a railway worker accidentally falls in front of a train and is killed -- foreshadowing Anna's own demise. Meanwhile, Stiva's childhood friend Konstantin Dmitrievich Levin arrives in Moscow to offer his hand in marriage to Dolly's younger sister, Ekaterina Alexandrovna Shcherbatsky ("Kitty"). The passionate, restless but shy aristocratic landowner lives on an estate which he manages. Kitty turns him down, expecting a marriage offer from army officer Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky. Despite his fondness for Kitty, Vronsky has no intention of marrying her. He soon falls in love with Anna after he meets her at the Moscow train station and later dances the mazurka with her at a ball.
Anna, shaken by her response and animation to Vronsky, returns at once to St. Petersburg. Vronsky follows her on the same train. Levin returns to his estate farm, abandoning any hope of marriage, and Anna returns to her husband, Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin (who happens to be a senior government official) and their son, Sergei ("Seriozha"), in Petersburg.
In part 2, Karenin scolds Anna for talking too much with Vronsky, but after a while she returns Vronsky's affections and becomes pregnant with his child. Anna shows anguish when Vronsky falls from a racehorse, making her feelings obvious and prompting her to confess to her husband. This attraction appears repeatedly in the book through the form of a "what if" question. When Kitty learns that Vronsky prefers Anna over her, she turns ill. Two doctors examine her, and together they decide she should travel abroad to recover. She goes to a resort at a German spring to recover from the shock. There, she briefly becomes extremely pious but decides that she cannot retain that level of piety without deceiving herself.
Part 3 examines Levin's life on his rural farming estate, a setting closely tied to Levin's spiritual thoughts and struggles. Throughout the chapter, Levin wrestles with the idea of falseness, wondering how he should go about ridding himself of it and criticizing what he feels is falseness in others. Dolly also meets Levin and attempts to revive his feelings for Kitty. Dolly seems to have failed, but a chance sighting of Kitty makes Levin realize he still loves her. Back in Petersburg, Karenin exasperates Anna by refusing to separate with her and threatens not to let her see their son Seriozha again if she leaves or misbehaves, exactly what Vronsky asks her to do.
By part 4, however, Karenin finds the situation intolerable and begins seeking divorce. Anna's brother, Stiva argues against it and persuades Karenin to speak with Dolly first. Again, Dolly seems to be unsuccessful, but Karenin changes his plans after hearing that Anna is dying in childbirth. At her bedside, Karenin forgives Vronsky, who in remorse attempts suicide. However, Anna recovers, having given birth to a daughter she names Anna ("Annie"). Stiva finds himself pleading on her behalf for Karenin to divorce Anna. Vronsky at first plans to flee to Tashkent but changes his mind after seeing Anna, and they leave for Europe without obtaining a divorce after all. Much more straightforward is Stiva's matchmaking with Levin: a meeting he arranges between Levin and Kitty results in their reconciliation and betrothal.
In part 5, Levin and Kitty marry. A few months later, Levin learns that his brother, Nikolai, is dying. The couple go to him, and Kitty nurses him until he dies while also discovering she is pregnant. In Europe, Vronsky and Anna struggle to find friends who will accept them and pursue activities that will amuse them, but they eventually return to Russia. Karenin is comforted & n dash; and influenced & n dash; by the strong-willed Countess Lidia Ivanovna, an enthusiast of religious and mystic ideas fashionable with the upper classes, who counsels him to keep Seriozha away from Anna. However, Anna manages to visit Seriozha unannounced on his birthday but is discovered by the furious Karenin (who had told their son that his mother was dead). Shortly afterward, she and Vronsky leave for the country.
In part 6, Dolly visits Anna. At Vronsky's request, she asks Anna to resume seeking a divorce from Karenin. Yet again, Dolly seems unsuccessful; but when Vronsky leaves for several days of provincial elections, a combination of boredom and suspicion convinces Anna she must marry Vronsky. So she writes to Karenin and leaves with Vronsky for Moscow.
In part 7, the Levins are in Moscow for Kitty's benefit as she gives birth to her son. Stiva, while seeking Karenin's commendation for a new job, again asks him to grant Anna a divorce; but Karenin's decisions are now governed by a "clairvoyant" & n dash; recommended by Lidia Ivanovna & n dash; who apparently counsels him to decline. Anna and Vronsky become increasingly bitter towards each other. They plan to return to the country, but in a jealous rage Anna leaves early, and in a parallel to part 1, commits suicide by throwing herself in the path of a train. (Tolstoy reportedly was inspired to write Anna Karenina by reading a newspaper report of such a death).
Part 8 continues the story after Anna's death. Stiva gets the job he wanted, and Karenin takes custody of Annie. Some Russian volunteers, including Vronsky, who does not plan to come back, leave to help in the Serbian revolt that has just broken out against the Turks (see also History of Serbia, 1877). And in the joys and fears of fatherhood, Levin at last develops faith in the Christian God.
Characters in "Anna Karenina"
- Prince Stepan Arkadyevitch Oblonsky ("Stiva") & n dash; a civil servant
- Darya Alexandrovna ("Dolly") & n dash; Stepan's wife
- Anna Karenina & n dash; the main protagonist, sister to Stepan
- Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin & n dash; Anna's husband
- Konstantin Dmitrievich Levin & n dash; Oblonsky's childhood friend
- Nikolai Levin & n dash; Konstantin's brother
- Ekaterina Alexandrovna Shcherbatsky ("Kitty") & n dash; for whom Konstantin has come for "the hand"
- Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky & n dash; "Kitty"'s preferred suitor
- Countess Lidia Ivanovna & n dash; interested in all things mystical
Major themes
The novel, set among the highest circles of Russian society, is generally thought by the casual reader to be nothing more than the story of a tragic romance. However, Tolstoy was both a moralist and severe critic of the excesses of his aristocratic peers, and Anna Karenina is often interpreted overall as a parable on the difficulty of being honest to oneself when the rest of society accepts falseness.
Anna is the jewel of St. Petersburg society until she leaves her husband for the handsome and charming military officer, Count Vronsky. By falling in love, they go beyond society's external conditions of trivial adulterous dalliances. But when Vronsky's love cools, Anna cannot bring herself to return to the husband she detests even though he will not permit her to see their son until she does. Unable to accept Vronsky's rebuff, and unable to return to a life she hates, she kills herself.
A common way to interpret Anna's tragedy, then, is that she could neither be completely honest nor completely false, showing a Hamlet-like inner conflict that eventually drives her to suicide.
However, the novel contains the parallel and contrasting love story of Konstantin Levin. Levin is a wealthy landowner from the provinces, able to move in aristocratic circles. Levine, though, prefers to work on his estate in the country. He tries unsuccessfully to fit into high society by wooing the young Kitty Shcherbatsky in Petersburg; he wins her only when he allows himself to be himself.
The joyous, honest and solid relationship of Levin and Kitty is continually contrasted in the novel with that of Anna and Vronsky, which is tainted by its uncertain status (marriage) resulting in constant upheaval, backbiting and suspicion. So by the time Anna throws herself under a train at the end of the story, the reader is not supposed to sympathize with her supposed mistreatment but rather recognize that her inability to truly commit to her own happiness or self-truth led to her ignominious end.
Other themes
Anna Karenina is filled with themes and imagery that illustrates Tolstoy's disdain of his aristocratic peers and with a litany of human weaknesses.
Tolstoy skewers religious hypocrisy and insincerity in several characters, especially Karenin, Anna's husband and the moralizing Countess Lydia Ivanovna. He also draws contrasts between the peace and wholesomeness of the country and the decadence of urban society. But one of the most prominent themes Tolstoy expounds upon in the novel is the relationship between love and honesty, both the different varieties of them as well as the different degrees to which they coexist and the happiness that does or does not result.
In many ways, Anna Karenina was the most personal novel Tolstoy wrote up to that point. The character Levin is recognized as a stand-in for Tolstoy himself, whose first name in Russian is "Lev". He incorporated other details of his life into the character, such as Levin's insistence that Kitty read his journals before they marry, something Tolstoy made his own wife do. Thus, scholars usually assume that Levin's thoughts reflect Tolstoy's own.
Anna Karenina and Tolstoy's Confession
Many of the novel's themes can be found in Tolstoy's Confession, his first-person rumination about the nature of life and faith, written just two years after the publication of Anna Karenina.
He describes his real-life dissatisfaction with the hypocrisy of his class:
Every time I tried to display my innermost desires & n dash; a wish to be morally good & n dash; I met with contempt and scorn, and as soon as I gave in to base desires I was praised and encouraged.
Tolstoy also details the acceptability of adulterous "liaisons" in aristocratic Russian society:
A dear old aunt of mine, the purest of creatures, with whom I lived, was always saying that she wished for nothing as much as that I would have a relationship with a married woman. 'Rien ne forme un jeune homme comme une liaison avec une femme comme il faut'("Nothing trains a young man properly like an affair with a married woman").
Another theme in Anna Karenina is the aristocratic habit of speaking in French instead of Russian as a form of society's falseness. There is even one passage that could possibly be interpreted as a sign of Anna's eventual redemption in Tolstoy's eyes:
For in the end what are we, who are convinced that suicide is obligatory and yet cannot resolve to commit it, other than the weakest, the most inconsistent and, speaking frankly, the most stupid of people, making such a song and dance with our banalities?
The Confession contains many other autobiographical insights into the themes of Anna Karenina. A public domain version is included here here.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
The novel has been filmed more than a dozen times. Adaptations include:
- 1914: A Russian adaptation directed by Vladimir Gardin.
- 1915: An American version starring Danish actress Betty Nansen.
- 1927: An American version titled Love, starring Greta Garbo and directed by Edmund Goulding. This version featured significant changes from the novel and included two different endings, with a happy one for American audiences.
- 1935: The most famous and critically acclaimed version, starring Greta Garbo and Fredric March and directed by Clarence Brown.
- 1948: Starring Vivien Leigh and directed by Julien Duvivier.
- 1953: A Russian version directed by Tatyana Lukashevich.
- 1967: A Russian version directed by Alexander Zarkhi.
- 1971: Ballet by Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin.
- 1977: A 10 part British TV miniseries directed by Basil Coleman.
- 1985: TV Movie starring Jacqueline Bisset and Christopher Reeve, directed by Simon Langton.
- 1997: The first US version to be filmed on location in Russia, directed by Bernard Rose and starring Sophie Marceau and Sean Bean.
- 2000: A 4 part British TV adaptation directed by David Blair.
- 2005: A Russian mini-series by Sergei Solovyov .
Trivia
- Karenin's name is derived from the Ancient Greek word for "head", thus illustrating his pervasive rationality.
- The novel became a best-seller in the United States in 2004 after a recommendation by TV personality Oprah Winfrey. (ISBN 0143035002)
Further reading
Translations
- Anna Karenina, Translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky (Allen Lane/Penguin, London, 2000)
- Anna Karenina, Translated by Joel Carmichael (Bantam Books, New York, 1960)
- Anna Karenina, Translated by David Magarshack (A Signet Classic, New American Library, New York and Scarborough, Ontario, 1961)
- Anna Karenina, Translated by Louise and Aylmer Maude (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1918)
- Anna Karenin, Translated by Rosemary Edmonds (Penguin Classics, Harmondsworth, Middlesex, 1954)
Biographical and literary criticism
- Bakhtin, Mikhail, The Dialogic Imagination, ed. Michael Holquist, trans. Caryl Emerson and Michael Holquist (University of Texas Press, Austin, 1981)
- Bayley, John, Tolstoy and the Novel (Chatto and Windus, London, 1966)
- Berlin, Isaiah, The Hedgehog and the Fox: An Essay on Tolstoy's View of History (Simon and Schuster, New York, 1966; Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1967)
- Eikhenbaum, Boris, Tolstoi in the Seventies, trans. Albert Kaspin (Ardis, Ann Arbor, 1982)
- Evans, Mary, Anna Karenina (Routledge, London and New York, 1989)
- Gifford, Henry, Tolstoy (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1982)
- Gifford, Henry (ed) Leo Tolstoy (Penguin Critical Anthologies, Harmondsworth, 1971)
- Leavis, F. R., Anna Karenina and Other Essays (Chatto and Windus, London, 1967)
- Mandelker, Amy, Framing 'Anna Karenina': Tolstoy, the Woman Question, and the Victorian Novel (Ohio State University Press, Columbus, 1993)
- Nabokov, Vladimir, Lectures on Russian Literature (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London and Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, New York, 1981)
- Orwin, Donna Tussing, Tolstoy's Art and Thought, 1847-1880 (Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1993)
- Speirs, Logan, Tolstoy and Chekhov (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1971)
- Steiner, George, Tolstoy or Dostoevsky: An Essay in Contrast (Faber and Faber, London, 1959)
- Thorlby, Anthony, Anna Karenina (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York, 1987)
- Tolstoy, Leo, Correspondence, 2. vols., selected, ed. and trans. by R. F. Christian (Athlone Press, London and Scribner, New York, 1978)
- Tolstoy, Leo, Diaries, ed. and trans. by R. F. Christian (Athlone Press, London and Scribner, New York, 1985)
- Tolstoy, Sophia A., The Diaries of Sophia Tolstoy, ed. O. A. Golinenko, trans. Cathy Porter (Random House, New York, 1985)
- Wasiolek, Edward, Critical Essays on Tolstoy (G. K. Hall, Boston, 1986)
- Wasiolek, Edward, Tolstoy's Major Fiction (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1978)
External links
Anna Karenina in English
- Anna Karenina at Project Gutenberg (note that the work of this translator is now considered by some critics to be outdated; see article on Constance Garnett)
- Anna Karenina formatted for online reading (At literature.org. This uses the same Garnett translation described above).
- Sparknotes: Anna Karenina An analysis of the book.
Anna Karenina in Russian
- Full Russian text of Anna Karenina at Alexey Komarov's Internet Library